New York Markets After Hours

Market’s geared up for Apple, Google results

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Tech heavyweights Apple Inc., Google Inc., International Business Machines Corp. and Microsoft Corp. are scheduled to release quarterly results next week, and with gloomy expectations for earnings for the sector, investors will be keen to hear the companies’ forecasts.

The market will be “at the beginning of the heart of earnings season,” this week, according to Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners, who noted that 3M Co.
MMM, -0.66%
and Johnson & Johnson
JNJ, -0.94%
will be among other companies in focus with the release of their results.

MarketWatch week ahead: Earnings

After the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, the heavy slate of results due Tuesday include numbers from Google
GOOG, -0.73%
IBM
IBM, -1.33%
and Texas Instruments Inc.
TXN, -1.41%

The marquee event next week will likely be Apple’s report Wednesday. “It’s the most important stock in the stock market. Everyone will be interested in what to see what their numbers are and what their guidance will be,” said Phil Orlando, equity-market strategist at Federated Investors.

An upside earnings surprise from Apple could boost its shares and strengthen sentiment in the tech sector. Unlike the past nine quarters, Apple isn’t predicted to be the largest contributor to sector earnings growth at the company level, according to FactSet. If the company were to report a year-over-year fall in earnings, it would be the first time since the second quarter of 2003, the research and data provider said.

Analysts polled by FactSet currently expect Apple to post fiscal first-quarter earnings of $13.45 a share, down from $13.87 a year ago. Revenue, however, is expected to rise to $54.92 billion from $46.33 billion in the year-earlier period.

The results will be first full quarter to include sales of the iPhone 5, which was launched in September. Total shipments are expected to come in at roughly 48 million, but Apple’s stock has been hit recently in part on worries about slower demand for the device. Several analysts and media outlets have reported that Apple has reduced orders for certain iPhone 5 components.

Investors will also be eager to hear what Microsoft
MSFT, -0.74%
will say about sales of its latest product, the Windows 8 operating system, which was unveiled in October.

The slow start for the Windows 8 cycle largely stems from “the fact that this is not a simple upgrade; it requires some investment in time to relearn the product, given the addition of the tabletlike portion of the operating system’s user interface to optimize the experience for touch,” wrote Nomura software analyst Rick Sherlund in a note Friday.

Europe week ahead: Euro-zone data

(4:15)

Euro-zone and German data will be scrutinized for growth, but the primary focus will be whether the Bank of Japan will deliver the monetary easing sought by the new prime minister. Andrea Tryphonides and Nina Bains run through the schedule. (Photo: Getty Images)

Near-term catalysts for Microsoft’s stock aren’t apparent, said Sherlund. However, “traction should improve over the year with increased new hardware availability and lower prices, with a better opportunity for the stock in the second half” of the year.

Microsoft shares are up 2% so far in 2013.

Earnings for the information-technology sector are expected to drop 2.9% for the quarter. The industrials sector is projected to fare the worst in terms of earnings, with an expected decline of 4.8%, according to FactSet.

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